34 minutes ago
Humanitarian leaders reject a one-sided “safe zone” in the Gaza Strip
The heads of several humanitarian organizations have said they will not take part in “unilateral” proposals to create “safe zones” in the Gaza Strip.
Signatories included Martin Griffiths, Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, CARE International Secretary-General Sofia Sprachmann Sineiro and Save the Children President Janti Soeripto.
“Under the prevailing conditions, proposals to unilaterally establish “safe zones” in Gaza risk causing harm to civilians, including major loss of life, and must be rejected,” the statement said. “Without the right conditions, the concentration of civilians in such zones during active hostilities can increase the risk of attack and additional damage.”
It added: “Any discussions on ‘safe zones’ must not distract from the parties’ commitment to always ensure that civilians – wherever they are – are protected and their basic needs are met, including by facilitating rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all civilians in need.”
The statement comes as the Israeli military urges Palestinian civilians to leave their homes in northern Gaza and evacuate to “safe zones” south of the Wadi Gaza wetland.
— Ruxandra Iordache
48 minutes ago
According to the Israeli coordination center, 144 trucks carrying relief supplies entered the Gaza Strip on Thursday
A truck passes through the border crossing back into Egypt after delivering aid to the Gaza Strip on November 12, 2023 in Rafah, Egypt.
Ali Moustafa | Getty Images
A total of 144 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were inspected and transported to the Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to Israel’s Agency for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories said on social media.
This included 88 trucks carrying food, 21 trucks carrying medical equipment, 18 trucks carrying water and seven trucks carrying shelter equipment. The remaining trucks delivered mixed cargo.
Before the latest conflict, the United Nations previously estimated that about 500 trucks carrying aid were entering the Gaza Strip every day.
— Ruxandra Iordache
An hour ago
UN aid agency says some operations are not possible due to telecommunications disruptions
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine warned against carrying out a cross-border relief operation on Friday at the Rafah crossing, which connects the enclave and Egypt, as telecommunications disruptions and fuel shortages continue.
“The communication network in #Gaza failed because there is NO fuel. “This makes it impossible to manage and coordinate humanitarian aid convoys,” UNRWA said in a social media post.
UNRWA helps receive and distribute humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip and hosts Palestinian civilians in its facilities. Operations were severely affected by a lack of fuel, which prevented crossing the terrain.
“We will no longer be able to fulfill our obligation to care for the Palestinian people,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in an earlier statement on Thursday. “I really believe there is a deliberate attempt to stall our operation and cripple the UNRWA operation.”
He also said at the time that the conflict had sparked the largest displacement of the Palestinian population since 1948, with civilians fleeing to the south of the Gaza Strip and arriving “dehydrated, hungry, exhausted and completely shocked.”
— Ruxandra Iordache
An hour ago
Telecommunications services down throughout the Gaza Strip
GAZA CITY, GAZA – OCTOBER 08: Smoke and flames rise following airstrikes by Israeli forces as clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups continue at various locations in Gaza on October 08, 2023 in Gaza City, Gaza. Israeli warplanes launched new airstrikes in the Gaza Strip early Sunday amid rising tensions following a surprise Hamas attack on Israeli cities. (Photo by Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu | Getty Images
Telecommunications services in the Gaza Strip are offline due to critical fuel shortages.
On Thursday, Palestinian telecommunications providers Jawwal and Paltel issued a joint statement announcing a “total interruption of communications services (landline, mobile and internet) in the Gaza Strip after imports of fuel were banned and all backup power sources for operations were exhausted. “the main elements of the network.”
They have not made any further updates since then.
Israel has cut off Gaza from its own fuel supplies, only allowing UN trucks to refuel with supplies that can only be used to distribute humanitarian aid.
Several primary services, including sanitation, well pumping and water desalination, as well as medical equipment, have subsequently gone offline across the enclave.
— Ruxandra Iordache
An hour ago
The Israeli military says it has found a Hamas tunnel in Al-Shifa Hospital
The Israeli army says it has found tunnels and weapons at Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital.
IDF | Portal
The Israel Defense Forces said they had discovered a tunnel at Al-Shifa Hospital, part of a sprawling network believed to extend across the subterranean level beneath the Gaza Strip.
The IDF raided the Al-Shifa medical complex, the largest in the Gaza enclave, on suspicion that Hamas was using the facility as a base of operations.
IDF troops said they also found a vehicle used in the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks at the site, as well as previously finding weapons, ammunition and a laptop. CNBC was unable to verify the report.
Israel has repeatedly defended its decision to invade al-Shifa despite international backlash, pointing out that the medical complex had been repurposed for Hamas hostilities. The Geneva Conventions state that under Article 18, civilian hospitals “shall under no circumstances be the target of attack,” but Article 19 provides that this protection for medical institutions “does not cease unless they become the target of the commission of harmful acts used outside of their humanitarian duties.” to the enemy.”
— Ruxandra Iordache
An hour ago
The Israeli military says it has recovered the bodies of two Hamas hostages
The Israeli military says it has recovered the bodies of two prisoners kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 terrorist attacks, including a Hamas soldier.
One of the deceased was 19-year-old sergeant Noa Marciano, whose death was announced by Hamas earlier this week. The IDF and Hamas have blamed each other for their downfall.
The second body was kindergarten teacher Yehudit Weiss, 65.
Israeli forces said they had recovered both bodies from a building next to the stormed Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip and transported them to Israeli territory.
CNBC could not confirm the reports.
Marciano and Weiss were two of over two hundred prisoners kidnapped by Hamas.
— Ruxandra Iordache
3 hours ago
According to the Syrian army, Syria is firing Israeli missiles over the Damascus area
Syria shot down Israeli missiles fired from the Golan Heights into the area around the capital Damascus in the early hours of Friday, the Syrian army said.
Most of the Israeli missiles were intercepted, but some caused material damage, the army said in a statement.
The Israeli military declined to comment.
Last week, the Israeli military said an organization in Syria launched a drone that hit a school in the southern Israeli city of Eilat and responded by hitting the group.
There has been a spate of attacks in the region since October 7, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel and Israel retaliated.
On November 8, Syria also said that Israel had carried out an airstrike on military sites in southern Syria, as the Hamas-Israel conflict had led to an increase in attacks.
—Portal
4 hours ago
IBM is halting advertising on X following a report of advertising alongside anti-Semitic content
IBM has the advertising on
“IBM does not tolerate hate speech or discrimination of any kind and we immediately stopped all advertising on X while we investigate this completely unacceptable situation,” an IBM spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.
Media Matters for America released a report Wednesday saying the media watchdog group had “recently found ads for Apple, Bravo, Oracle, Xfinity and IBM alongside posts praising Hitler and his Nazi Party on X.”
X CEO Linda Yaccarino is trying to win back advertisers who dropped their campaigns after Elon Musk bought the company last year. Researchers and advocacy groups have documented a rise in controversial content on X, but the company has denied these claims.
–Jonathan Vanian
10 hours ago
“Gaza is facing widespread hunger as food systems collapse,” the UN World Food Program warns
Children play in a charred car as people queue for bread outside a bakery that was partially destroyed in an Israeli attack, in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip November 2, 2023, as fighting continues between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement .
Mahmoud Hams | Afp | Getty Images
The UN World Food Program (WFP) warned on Thursday that only 10% of necessary food supplies had arrived in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict and the Gaza Strip now faces a massive food shortage and widespread hunger.
“Food and water supplies are virtually non-existent in Gaza and only a fraction of what is needed arrives across the borders. With winter fast approaching, unsafe and overcrowded shelters, and a lack of clean water, civilians face imminent danger of starvation,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. “There is no way to meet current hunger needs with a functioning border crossing “The only hope is to create another safe passage for humanitarian access to bring life-saving food to Gaza.”
The WFP confirmed earlier this week the closure of the last bakery operated with the organization’s help due to a lack of fuel. According to the WFP, bread is now scarce or non-existent.
People queue for bread outside a bakery that was partially destroyed in an Israeli attack in Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 4, 2023, as fighting continues between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.
Majdi Fathi | Photo only | Getty Images
Children play in a charred car as people queue for bread outside a bakery that was partially destroyed in an Israeli attack, in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip November 2, 2023, as fighting continues between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement .
Mahmoud Hams | Afp | Getty Images
People carry bags of bread as others queue outside a bakery in Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 4, 2023, which was partially destroyed in an Israeli attack, as fighting continues between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.
Majdi Fathi | Photo only | Getty Images
2 hours ago